In recent years there has been an increasing desire to provide a water dispenser and automatic ice maker on a household refrigerator. In such an arrangement a valve assembly is typically provided having a single water inlet and a pair of water outlets. The valve assembly may have a pair of valves housed in the valve assembly, one dedicated to controlling flow to the ice maker and the other dedicated to controlling flow to the water dispenser. Typically, the refrigerator includes a first water supply line that is adapted to connect from one of the water outlets on the valve assembly to the ice maker. A second water supply line is similarly adapted to connect from the other water outlet on the valve assembly to the water dispenser.
In one arrangement, the water supply lines and the respective water outlets on the valve assembly are attached by way of a quick connect. A quick connect allows the supply lines to be easily connected to the water outlets without the requirement of fasteners or supplemental hand tools. In general, to couple a supply line to a water outlet on the valve assembly, an end of the supply line is simply inserted into a tube gripper or collet provided on the water outlet. Once inserted, the collet provides radial retention on a first portion of the supply line to maintain a connection. In some instances an o-ring may also be provided to encourage a water tight fit. If the supply line needs to be removed from the quick connect, an outer flange defined on the supply line is squeezed thereby reducing the radial retention force between the collet and the supply line and therefore allowing the supply line to be retracted from the collet interface.
While the quick connect feature provides the convenience of a simple connection, quick connects can be difficult to manufacture within the valve assembly. For example, current designs for quick connect water valves with dual flow controls incorporated in the outlets of the valve require two weld operations to install the quick connect geometry for each valve outlet. As a result, such a valve assembly requires four weld operations. Consequently, it is desirable to provide a valve configuration having a quick connect feature that is simpler and more cost effective to manufacture.